The Commerce Department Office of Inspector General is reviewing how...
The Commerce Department Office of Inspector General is reviewing how certain stimulus grants recipients acquired their equipment. Principal Assistant Inspector General for Audit and Evaluation Ann Eilers sent a letter, released Tuesday (http://xrl.us/bn63dn), to NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling on Dec.…
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10 notifying him that OIG is “initiating a review of the acquisition of equipment for selected Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) infrastructure awards,” to be conducted in Washington and elsewhere as needed. The review has three goals and will check to ensure NTIA has “personnel and processes in place to effectively monitor grantees’ equipment acquisitions, including security, inventory control, and report submittals” as well as to “assess whether grantees have appropriately acquired, tested, and implemented the most effective equipment” and “are on track to complete the BTOP projects on schedule and achieve project goals,” the letter said. There are 123 infrastructure grantees with awards totaling $3.5 billion -- accounting for more than half of all BTOP grantees and three-quarters of the BTOP money, according to NTIA (http://xrl.us/bnw76m). Seven of these grants devoted to public safety (CD Dec 6 p5) as well as Colorado’s EAGLE-Net (CD Dec 10 p6) are currently suspended.